SLA shell kills fisherman in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 April 2008, 09:37 GMT]Shelling by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Wednesday around 10:00 a.m killed one of the fisherman fishing in Jaffna lagoon, sources in Jaffna said. The victim's boat was nearly 3 km from the shore when the incident happened. Frightened fishermen hurriedly returned to the shore with the body of the fishermen killed, the sources added.

The victim killed in the shelling was identified as Rasanayagam Shantharoopan, a resident of Kurunakar in Jaffna.

Nearly 250 fishermen had, as usual, gone fishing Wednesday morning with the permission of SLA posted on the shore.

The shells launched by the SLA fell and exploded amidst the fishermen.

The fate of some fishermen who failed to return to the shore following the shelling is not known, fisheries society sources in Jaffna said.

The body of the killed fisherman was handed over to Jaffna Hospital mortuary Wednesday noon.